


A Destiny Fulfilled

by rbreea



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Redeemed Morgana (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25741855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rbreea/pseuds/rbreea
Summary: While Merlin and Arthur are away from the castle, a barmaid tells Merlin he is handsome. Arthur begins to slowly realize just how many people are completely in love with his servant, including his beloved sister Morgana.
Relationships: Merlin Emrys | Arthur Pendragon, Merlin | Arthur, Merlin | Gwaine, Morgana | Merlin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 77





	A Destiny Fulfilled

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: I don’t own these characters they are from BBCs merlin :(  
> I found a prompt for this on pinterest, but it originally came from tumblr. I can’t find the screenshot from pinterest so I don’t know who came up with this original idea.... but anyways this starts around the beginning of season 3 episode 4.  
> also this uses dialogue and scenes from the actual show

As the Prince and his servant rode over a hill, they came across a small little village. Arthur, without stopping, rode down towards the tavern, exhausted from the days hunt. Merlin followed, shaking his head. “And he thinks I spend all my time in taverns.”

Arthur and Merlin led their horses over to a wooden post to tie them so they wouldn’t run away while they were inside.

“Now remember Merlin,” Arthur leaned over from across the post. “In here, you aren’t my servant. I’m just a simple peasant like everyone else” 

“Simple part’s right.” Merlin mumbled as they began to walk towards the tavern.

“What was that?” 

“I said the sun is very bright.” Merlin replied as he opened the door for Arthur.

“Oh yes, I suppose it is.” 

Merlin smirked and followed him inside the tavern. The two found a small round table at the back, and sat down. Almost immediately, a short barmaid came over to them.

“What’ll it be?” She asked, wiping the table down once with a small rag. “Hm, you’re a handsome fellow.” 

Arthur looked up at the woman and said, “Well, you wouldn’t be the first to say it.” 

Merlin raised his eyebrows with a sarcastic sort of smile as he looked at Arthur.

“Oh no, sorry,” the barmaid smiled sheepishly, “I was talking about your friend here.”

Merlin slowly smiled and sat up straighter in his seat. “Thank you.” 

Arthur, confused as to what just happened, furrowed his eyebrows and said in a low voice, “Two tankards of mead, please.”

The barmaid just smiled at Merlin again, and walked back to the bar. And although Merlin was flattered, he couldn’t help but think how rude she had been, telling him that instead of telling it to Arthur. 

Merlin now found himself unable to keep a smirk from his face. He leaned across the table and mumbled over the noise so only Arthur could hear, “Coming here was a great idea.”

Just as Arthur opened his mouth to reply, the doors to the tavern were flung open, and a tall, bald, scary looking man walked through. The conversations suddenly stopped as everyone turned to stare at the man. 

The stranger shoved past a server and knocked over her trays. Both Arthur and Merlin sat straighter at this, readying themselves for the worst.

“Afternoon, Mary.” He said, “Business looks good.” 

The barmaid that had just spoken to Arthur and Merlin looked up from behind the bar. “We have our better days.” 

“I don’t suppose you’d begrudge me my share, then?” He replied, stalking closer to where she stood shaking.

Mary quickly tossed a few coins onto the counter and stepped back, as far away from the man as she could be. 

He looked at the coins,silently counting in his head before he looked up. “And the rest of it?”

Mary held eye contact with the man, trying to look confidant as she said, “There is no more. That’s all we’ve got.”

The man lunged across the bar and grabbed her by the front of her apron. He whipped out a small knife and held it to her throat. “I’ll not ask you again!” He yelled.

“Take your hands off her.” Arthur calmly replied, now standing directly behind the man. 

The man let Mary go, and she scurried into the back room. He turned slowly, smirking. Arthur tilted his head to the side, as the stranger brought his fingers to his lips and whistled.

The doors were once again flung open, but this time an entire group of men stalked through the opening, filling the empty space in the tavern. 

Merlin stood up quickly and moved back towards where Arthur still stood at the bar. 

Across the room, another man with long messy hair stood as well. “You two have got yourselves in quite a pickle, haven’t you?” He sauntered over to them, taking another sip of his ale. 

“You should leave while you have the chance.” Arthur replied simply as he turned to him, watching him tilt his head back as far as he could to get every last drop of the drink in his mug. 

“You’re probably right.” He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, sensing that the men were all tensing, ready for a fight. But instead of moving for the open door, he turned and handed his mug to the tall stranger, who still stood next to Arthur. The man looked down at the mug in his hand, confused. Before he could look back up or do anything else, the long haired man punched him in the face.

The stranger went flying backwards, and his men let loose their battle cries as they charged forward to attack. 

Chaos broke out, and some of the drunk men and women who had been sitting in the tavern fled for the doors. The others began throwing punches. 

Plates and mugs were thrown across the room, shattering on peoples heads. Arthur and the tall man began to fight, as the long haired stranger and Merlin spread across the room trying to get rid of the tall man’s men. 

Despite being locked in his own battle, Arthur frantically looked around for his servant. He had lost track of him when the fighting broke out, and he didn’t know if he was alright. When the tall man shoved him against a wall, Arthur saw Merlin elbow a man who was trying to stab Merlin in the back with a butter knife, in the face. Another man came up behind Merlin, ready to knock the boy unconscious. 

“MERLIN! BEHIND YOU!” Arthur yelled over the ruckus.

Thankfully, Merlin heard him and whirled around to dodge the second man. He ran towards the bar and dove underneath to get to the other side of it. The second man ran after Merlin, but Merlin picked up a clay pot and smashed it down on the man’s head. Smiling to himself, Merlin looked up to see if Arthur was alright, when the long haired stranger stumbled up to him. 

“Pass me the jug,” he said, stretching his neck to the side. 

Merlin turned around, grabbed the jug and handed it to the man. The stranger took a long swig from it, finishing whatever drink was inside it, and looked to Merlin. “What do they call you then?” 

“Merlin.” 

“Gwaine. Pleasure to meet you.” Gwaine stuck his hand out to shake Merlin’s. He then turned to the nearest man from the tall man’s group and smashed the empty jug on his head. 

As the fighting died down, Arthur was thrown to the ground, and the tall man drew his knife. Gwaine leaped forward and slammed into the man before he could even take two steps toward where Arthur laid on his elbows. The tall man hit his head on a nearby table, and laid unconscious on the ground. Merlin helped Arthur to his feet as Gwaine slowly stood. He met Merlin’s eyes for a short moment, before swaying in his spot and falling to the ground. Merlin rushed forward, noticing the the knife was wedged into Gwaine’s thigh. 

He made quick work of tearing fabric from his shirt and wrapping it around Gwaine’s leg. Once the Fabric strip was secure, Merlin closed his hand around the knife, exhaling once, then twice, and yanked it out. 

—

“Merlin, fetch me some fresh water and towels.” Gaius stood over Gwaine, now laying unconscious in Merlin’s bed. Merlin ran out of the room, sparing another glance at Gwaine. Arthur stared at Merlin as he ran down the stairs into Gaius’ chambers. He hadn’t missed that look Merlin had just given Gwaine. He also hadn’t missed when the two idiots had stood at the bar talking to each other, while he was fighting the tall man in the tavern. At least he hadn’t been putting himself in any danger. If anything happened to him, Arthur wasn’t sure he would ever forgive himself. 

Gwaine groaned and tried to roll over, pulling Arthur out of his thoughts. 

“Will he be alright, Gaius?” Arthur crossed his arms and stared down at the physician.

“I do think so, Sire. He’s lost a lot blood, but with plenty of rest and care, he should recover just fine.” 

Gaius stood from his chair as Merlin burst through the door. He took the water and fresh towels and sat back down to continue helping Gwaine. Arthur looked over at Merlin and became confused. Merlin looked scared. Why would he be scared? Gwaine was going to be alright, and besides, they barely knew the man. 

“Merlin,” Arthur said, “you will need clean my armor and wash my clothes for tomorrow. Also make sure you muck out the stables.”

“Y-yes Sire.” Merlin didn’t look up from Gwaine, and started chewing at a fingernail, brows furrowed in concern.

“That means now, Merlin!” Arthur snapped. Why did he snap at Merlin? He hadn’t meant to. Arthur shook his head to himself as Merlin silently left his room. Why had he been so serious? Usually when he says “sire,” he says it sarcastically. 

As Arthur turned and left Gaius to tend to Gwaine, he found he couldn’t put his finger on what he was feeling. 

—

Merlin was worried for Gwaine. As he sat in the armory, polishing Arthur’s armor, his thoughts were only of Gwaine. Would it be his fault if Gwaine didn’t make it? 

Merlin sighed and set the armor down. He was just about to move on to Arthur’s sword, when a quiet shuffling sound broke his concentration. He looked up, expecting one of the knights to be standing there, but to his surprise it was Morgana.

Merlin jumped to his feet and stared at her. “I- uh- Morgana...”

“Merlin, could I ask for a moment of your time? I want to talk.” She switched her weight back and forth between her legs. 

“Of course.” Merlin sighed, and moved towards her. 

#### Arthur’s POV

Arthur rounded a corner, walking towards the armory to find Merlin, when he heard Morgana’s timid voice. He stopped walking instantly. She hadn’t left her room since they got her back. Curious, and a little concerned, Arthur snuck forward to lean around the corner. He saw Merlin walk towards Morgana.

“Not- here.” Morgana told him, “Could you come to my chambers? I promise it will only take a moment.” 

“Yes. Of course.”

Merlin’s reply was stiff. Arthur furrowed his brows. He had thought they were friends, but now she was asking him to her chambers. Why? What were they doing that they couldn’t do in an open hallway?

As they walked away in silence, Arthur waited until they reached the end of the hallway before he followed them. He didn’t know why he was following them, exactly. Maybe out of curiosity, maybe it was jealousy. 

“What do I have to be jealous of?” He thought to himself. “That is a strange thought to have. I’m not jealous of anything.” 

But when they reached Morgana’s chambers, Arthur realized there was a little more than curiosity in his head. 

He stood in the hallway outside her closed door. They were inside talking about something but he couldn’t hear them. In a state of shocked confusion, Arthur turned and walked away, not quite knowing why he was suddenly thinking the things he was. He had certainly never thought about Merlin in this way before. Had he?

—

Merlin led Morgana into her chambers and shut the door. He was slightly confused and a little scared. What was she thinking? 

Morgana turned to face him and sighed. “Merlin I just want to say that I don’t quite understand why you- you did what you did.” 

Merlin opened his mouth, but Morgana held up a hand to silence him. “Let me speak, Merlin.” 

Merlin shut his mouth as she gestured for him to sit down with her on the bed. He paused and stared at her for a moment before sitting next to her.

“I understand. You were trying to protect you friends. I would’ve done the same thing,” a tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke. “I regret what I did, Merlin. I was stupid. I just hope that you can forgive me.” 

“No, Morgana. You did nothing wrong. In all of this, I think you are the only truly innocent one.” Morgana chuckled at that in disbelief, wiping away her tears.  
“I’m serious, Morgana. And I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness for what I did, but I want to explain to you why I did it.” 

“Oh Merlin you don’t have to-“

“Please Morgana,” Merlin cut her off, “Let me explain. Please.”

Morgana nodded her head for him to continue. Even after being with her sister for a year, she still didn’t know why Merlin had poisoned her. Morgause had told her it was because Merlin had despised her for her magic, but she had never completely believed that. Merlin had helped her and trusted her in the beginning, after all. 

Merlin took a deep breath and began. “The enchantment that made everyone sleep, it didn’t affect you like it affected everyone else. At first I thought it was because of your magic, but then I remembered reading about the Knights of Medhir.” 

Merlin was lying, and he hated it. But he had to stretch the truth a little bit so he could leave out his magic. “The legend said that the knights had to be tied to a living person. Killing that tie would destroy the knights. I knew Morgause had made you the tie, because the knights can’t harm them. She obviously cared for you, and I knew she wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. I knew- Killing you was the only option if I didn’t want Camelot and Arthur and everyone else to die.” Merlin choked on his words, struggling to get the sentences out. Morgana sat wide-eyed, staring at Merlin in rapt interest.

“I grabbed a bottle of the poison from Gaius’ chambers, along with the antidote. I never intended to let you die, Morgana. Well I did, but not permanently, only for a short while. If your life ended, your heart stopped beating, the Knights would fall, and I would be able to bring you back.” Merlin started crying, not caring if it made him a girl. He couldn’t hold back his emotions anymore. “I had the antidote in my hand. Morgause came and thought it was the poison. So she took you away. I thought- I thought you were dead. I thought I had really killed you. I thought-“ Merlin broke off in a sob. 

Morgana sat silent on the bed, mouth open. “She lied- she said... I didn’t know....” 

Morgana mumbled to herself while Merlin sat next to her crying. After a couple minutes of silence, they were both crying. 

Morgana turned to Merlin, “I didn’t realize.... She used me, Merlin.” 

“I know.” 

Morgana leaned forward and threw her arms around Merlin’s neck. She hugged him tightly as she broke down in sobs that racked her entire body. She had trusted Morgause, thought she was good. Believed what she had said about her friends. Her family. She had forgotten the trust she had placed in Merlin from the first day they met. 

When Merlin finally tightened his arms around her, returning the hug, Morgana cried harder. She realized how stupid she had been, thinking he sister was trustworthy. Or at least in thinking she couldn’t trust Merlin. They sat together in the embrace for a long time. 

A short knock on the door caused them to break apart, wiping their faces. Merlin stood up and moved to get the door, but Morgana just said, “Come in.”

Gwen opened the door, and smiled at Merlin, as she walked into the room. She was carrying a small bouquet of wildflowers, which she showed to Morgana, before putting them in the vase on the table. 

“Well I will see you later I suppose, Merlin.” Morgana sniffled again, and smiled at her friend. Merlin smiled back and turned to leave the room. 

Gwen watched him shut the door carefully behind him with a curious smile on her face. “Is there anything else, My Lady?” Gwen asked.

Morgana smiled at the familiarity, realizing how much she had missed her friends. Realizing just how many lies her sister had whispered in her ears. “Of course, Gwen. Come sit,” she patted the bed beside her, “tell me about all that happened while I was- gone.” She stuttered a bit on the last word, hating the fact that she had agreed to work with Morgause, and hating that she was lying to her best friend. 

While Gwen talked, Morgana thought about everything Morgause had told her. She began to see the half truths, and the lies for what they were. She realized she didn’t want to help Morgause. Because if she did, she would lose her two best friends in the world. And she suddenly found she couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to either of them. 

“My Lady, are you all right? You seem troubled.” Gwen smiled and tilted her head to the side with a concerned look in her eyes.

“I think I’m alright now, actually. Thank you Gwen. For being such a true friend to me. I don’t think you realize how amazing you are.” Morgana leaned forward and hugged her maid. She felt her heart lift in her chest as Gwen hugged her back. An entirely different feeling from when she had hugged Merlin. 

Gwen pulled away smiling, and as she left Morgana’s chambers, she felt happier then she had in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
